Sweets
by Trish47
Summary: Annie takes her nieces over to Auggie's apartment after a tiring night of trick-or-treating. Halloween vignette. Fluffy. A/A friendship. One-shot.


**Okay, I'm a day or so late (depending on your location). But I think people are still in the Halloween spirit. Just a one-shot here. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs or its characters. I'm not making any money from this story.**

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><p><span>Sweets<span>

Annie judges the weight of the candy-laden pillowcase dangling in her left hand and determines it would make an excellent improvised weapon; one good swing to the head would leave any attacker stunned and on the ground.

If her sister knew about these combat-related thoughts, she never would have agreed to allow Annie to take the girls out on Halloween. She's still unsure if Danielle actually approves of Chloe and Katia spending time with her, or if her sister's catering gig forced her into the decision. Either way, Annie's smile hasn't faded all evening; she's missed her nieces more than she thought she would.

One step ahead of her, Katia's foot catches on the hem of her princess costume, and Annie has to grab her arm to keep her from falling forward.

"Make sure you hold your skirt up so you don't trip," Annie reminds her youngest niece.

Katia re-gathers the layers of pink tulle and crushed velvet in her hands. Annie lets go of her arm, but keeps her hand behind Katia's back as they continue to climb the steep steps of Auggie's apartment building.

Frustrated by their slow pace—or simply eager to see "Mr. Auggie"—Chloe rushes to the first landing and sets her own heavy pillowcase on the ground. She crosses her arms over her white coat and old kitchen apron that's been smeared with fake blood. Her chef's hat is now limp and threatening to topple off her head. Annie instantly recognizes the impatient stance as her sister's and almost laughs.

"How many more flights?" Chloe asks.

"Just one," Annie responds as a group of middle school aged trick-or-treaters, unaccompanied by an adult, rushes past them up the stairs without so much as an "excuse us."

Katia keeps dragging her feet, barely clearing each step. Her forehead is practically parallel to the ground. Walking up and down the neighborhoods in Georgetown carrying a heavy pouch of candy for two hours has zapped her of any sugar-supplied energy she may have had; she dozed off on the cab ride over to Auggie's. Annie doesn't expect her to last very long once they get to his apartment.

"Almost there," Annie encourages gently, placing her hand on Katia's back to nudge her forward.

When they reach the third floor, Katia asks for her pillowcase back. Annie hands it over and watches her struggle to carry it down the long hallway to apartment three, where the middle schoolers have congregated. A string of jack-o-lantern lights has been tacked up above the doorway and a funny skeleton has been hung over the peephole.

"Trick or treat!" the group of preteens recites outside of Auggie's door as one of the group's members knocks.

Just as Annie and the girls walk up behind the group, Auggie opens the door, a tray of candy bars balanced in his free hand. Annie stops the girls behind the older kids, whispering for them to wait their turn.

"What's he supposed to be?" Katia asks in a low voice. "He looks like a devil!"

Annie can see how the red, faux-leather bodysuit that clings tightly to every part of him and the horned mask that only leaves his mouth uncovered invokes the stereotype of some satanic demon. Before Annie can explain the inspiration behind Auggie's outfit, one of the middle school boys turns around and gives Katia a disgusted look.

"He's Daredevil, stupid," he says.

Chloe responds immediately to the boy's condescending tone. "Don't call my sister stupid!"

She balls the open end of the pillowcase in her fist and swings it back and forth in a threatening gesture that surprises Annie. Where did she learn that kind of behavior? Did she pick it up from Annie somehow? Is this why Danielle doesn't want her around to influence the girls anymore?

Annie puts a hand on Chloe's shoulder to rein her in. The middle schooler huffs at Chloe's presumed bravado, but when he looks at Annie, he suddenly backs off and turns to face the doorway again. Maybe she shouldn't be glaring at a kid, but Annie's protectiveness has been drawn out by the boy's rude comment and Chloe's reaction. Then again, it may be the fake, three-pronged daggers strapped to her hips that have given the kid second thoughts about opening his mouth.

Auggie passes out the candy bars without comment, though he manages to skip over the bag of the rude boy.

"Hey, you forgot me," he has the nerve to tell him.

Auggie straightens and gives him a cold, tense grin. "Sorry. No candy for boys who bully little girls."

With hushed voices and muttering, the middle schoolers leave. Annie rolls her eyes and tries to ignore them. She squeezes Chloe and Katia's shoulders gently. "Go ahead, girls."

"Trick or treat!" Katia says loudly after being prompted, sounding more energetic. Chloe echoes the statement a second later, her tone still a little sour.

Auggie smiles, though, with his Daredevil mask, the expression looks more sinister than friendly. "Hello, girls. Enter if you dare."

"Wait," Katia says, "we have to get our candy first. We said 'trick or treat.'"

"You can barely carry your pillowcase already," Annie says as Auggie chuckles. "Do you really need more candy?"

Her niece bobs her head, her pin curls bouncing with the movement.

"How about you split the rest of the candy with your sister?" Auggie suggests, presenting the bowl of candy bars that is still relatively full. His building must not have a lot of children.

Katia and Chloe eagerly accept his offer and stuff their choice candies—Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for Katia and Snickers Bars for Chloe—into their pillowcases.

"Full size bars?" Annie says to Auggie. "You certainly go all out."

"That 'fun size' thing is such a scam. If you're going to have chocolate, don't play around."

The girls finish choosing their candy and Auggie gestures for them to come inside, letting them pass before following them and shutting the door.

"So you girls were lucky tonight? Had fun? Got lots of treats?" Auggie asks in quick succession.

"Yep," Katia says, pushing the lip of her pillowcase into one of Auggie's hands. "Feel!"

Auggie weighs the case dramatically, making his eyes extra wide with surprise. "Wow. Very impressive."

"Chloe," Annie says, "why don't you help your sister sort through the candy and make sure everything's safe, while Auggie and I make popcorn. Remember, don't eat anything that's opened or looks funny."

Chloe nods and takes her younger sister by the hand over to the living area. They sit on the ground, feet curled up beneath them and their backs to the couch. On the count of three, they invert their pillowcases, letting the spoils of their trick-or-treating spill out onto the floor into two mini-mountains.

Annie turns her attention back to her masked counterpart. "That'll take them a while."

"You sound tired," Auggie says.

"Just happy to be away from all the crazy kiddos."

"If they wore you out, how are you going to hold up with the big kids?"

Annie laughs softly, thinking of the more adult party taking place in a spare DPD conference room later in the evening. "Don't worry, I'll get my second wind," she assures him, then adds, "By the way, nice costume."

"I'm sure I can say the same for you," he responds, placing the popcorn bag face down in the microwave.

Annie thinks of the disapproving look her sister had given her before she left for her catering job with Michael. "It wasn't the most appropriate costume to take two little girls trick-or-treating in. I think the other mothers were scared, and the men. . .well, you know."

He makes a sound in the back of his throat. "Please, don't torture me with the images of you in leather pants and a midriff top wielding sais. The fanboy in my heart can't take it!"

Laughter bubbles up in her chest. "You're quite the tease yourself, Mr. Daredevil. How can you even breathe in that outfit? It looks skin tight."

Indeed, Annie can count every single one of his abs through the faux-leather costume; every muscle is hugged by the material in a very appealing way. She can't help but admire a body like his, especially when he's putting in on display.

"I'm a superhero, I don't need oxygen," he jokes.

"That's vampires, Auggie, not superheroes."

Annie glances at her nieces, who are now trading and sorting through their candies, making different piles. It's something she and Danielle used to do after every round of trick-or-treating. One pile was made for immediate consumption, another was rare treats to savor, and the third was to discard or trade at school the following week. Most of the snacks that ended up in the third pile were fruit gummies or anything remotely healthy. It seems that Chloe and Katia are following in the footsteps of their mother and aunt.

The microwave beeps to tell them that the popcorn has finished popping. Annie removes it while Auggie finds a large serving bowl in his cupboard.

"Guess we should start the movie," Annie says.

After pouring the popcorn, they join the girls on the couch.

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><p>Just as Annie predicted on their way to Auggie's apartment, halfway through the movie, the girls are slumped against each other, succumbing to the excitement of the holiday and the sugar crash brought on by too many sweets. Katia's feet rest in Annie's lap, and Chloe's shoulder leans into Auggie's side.<p>

Annie reaches over the tops of their heads and taps Auggie's shoulder to rouse him from his half-slumber. His head tilts back to an upright position slowly.

"Sugar coma set in?" he asks quietly.

"Mmhmm," Annie hums. "I can't take them back 'til eleven though. We still have an hour."

Auggie nods in understanding. For a moment, she wonders if he's going to go back to sleep instead of finishing the other half of _Halloweentown_, but then he slides off of the couch and stands without disturbing Chloe. Carefully, he finds her knees, then slides his right arm under her legs, bracing her back with his left. While she's a little old to be carried to a bed, she's still a sound sleeper. Annie follows his lead and rises, picking up Katia in a similar fashion.

"To the bedroom?" she asks in a whisper.

"I'd love to hear you say that under different circumstances," Auggie quips.

"If I wasn't holding Katia, I'd slap you," Annie responds, holding back her laughter.

"Which is why I made sure your hands were occupied," he says, then adds, "You lead."

They manage to get the girls into Auggie's bed without waking them up, which is a small miracle. Annie pulls the comforter over her nieces and removes Katia's princess tiara, setting it on the nightstand. The adults silently make their way back toward the living room, closing the bedroom door behind them.

"Nicely done," Annie comments, placing a hand on Auggie's shoulder and squeezing it in praise.

Before he can respond, there is a series of light knocks on Auggie's apartment door.

_Trick-or-treating should be over at this time of night_, Annie thinks, wondering who it could be. She was hoping to have a few peaceful minutes alone with Auggie before they get caught up in the rest of the evening's planned activities.

Auggie seems to have been expecting the visitor; he goes to the door and slides it open, revealing a young woman who is clearly not there for candy. In that outfit, she's looking for something _much_ different.

The costume is not sexy in a normal, college-girl-trying-too-hard, kind of way. This isn't some fairytale figure that's had her hemline shortened to barely cover her upper thigh and her neckline cut low to expose ample amounts of cleavage. Still, that doesn't mean this girl's getup is any less revealing.

The only articles of clothing the young woman's wearing are a pair of very short shorts and a bra. The rest of her body—as well as the shorts and bra—is covered in paint; a mixture of greens and browns and grays that make her look otherworldly. Her eyes are shaded with black and fake blood drips down the side of her mouth. More fake blood leaks from a nasty wound on her shoulder.

"Hey, Auggie," she says, and her bubbly tone does not match the horrifying zombie body art. "Did you find those videos?"

"Yeah, Steph," he responds. "Just a minute."

He leaves her standing in the doorway, then retrieves a short stack of DVDs from his kitchen counter that Annie had noticed earlier. Steph catches Annie staring at her and gives her a friendly wave accompanied by a big smile.

"Sorry to interrupt," she says.

Annie just shakes her head, unsure of what to say. She's still staring at the grotesquely beautiful body art that has turned the pretty girl into a horrifying zombie. Whoever painted her body had to have been an art major or done makeup for movies.

"Here you go," Auggie says, handing over the DVDs. "All the classics. _Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead_, and _Day of the Dead_."

"Taylor's going to _love_ this! Thanks so much!" she says, then stands on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to a part on Auggie's cheek that isn't covered by his red mask. "I'll get them back to you when we're done."

"Take your time," Auggie says as he slides the door shut behind her retreating form.

Annie strolls back over to the couch and bends down to start scooping the piles of sorted candy back into the girls' pillowcases. "A friend of yours?" she calls over her shoulder in a teasing voice.

"Just a girl who lives down the hall," he says.

Annie finishes stuffing the pillowcases and sits on the couch."Could've fooled me. She was looking at you like you were a hunk of tenderloin."

"She has a boyfriend," Auggie muses, joining her in the living area.

"Doesn't keep a girl from looking," Annie responds honestly.

She's been practically ogling him since she got to his apartment. How could she blame a college girl for staring? It simply can't be helped. The man is just too beautiful; it would be a crime to ignore him and his good looks.

He laughs. "You speaking from experience, Walker?"

"Just making a casual observation," she dodges, smiling to herself. "Wanna put in a real horror movie now?"

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><p>They sit on the couch, Annie's feet curled up underneath her, her head resting on Auggie's shoulder. The pillowcases full of candy sit between them with a few wrappers set aside in a separate pile. She fishes out another York Peppermint Patty and adds the wrapper to the collection with Auggie's Milk Duds boxes.<p>

"I think they'll notice if we eat any more," Annie mutters around a bite of patty.

"We should probably call a cab to come get us now anyway," Auggie says. "If we leave soon, it'll be right around eleven when we drop off Chloe and Katia. Then we can go straight to the party."

"I'm dying to see Stu in his Bullseye costume," she says, unable to contain a grin at the thought of the tech analyst dressed as a super villain. "Although, I think I'm more excited to see Jai try and pull off being Kingpin."

"He better be convincing. Our team has to make a comeback," Auggie states, referring to their loss to the burn-bag team's coordinated outfits for last year's costume contest.

"Oh, we will," Annie says confidently, then pats a hand against his abdomen. "With costumes like these, there's no way we could lose."

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><p><strong>I wrote this in an effort to try and get back into the swing of things since it's been a while since I updated or posted anything (yeah, yeah, shame on me). I don't think it's by best work, but I like it for what it is. I hope you did too.<br>**

**If you enjoyed it: yay! If you have ideas for improvement, I'd be more than happy to hear them. If it wasn't your cup of tea, please tell me why.**

**Also, so happy this show is back-even if it is only for six episodes. I hope there'll be a influx of FF in the near future. XD  
><strong>


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